MacRumors

iOS 26 improves the Apple Music Replay viewing experience.

As spotted by Hidde Collee and others, Apple Music Replay is now a completely native feature on iOS 26. This means that you can see your monthly and yearly listening statistics directly in the Apple Music app, rather than in a popover web view.

This change is minor in the grand scheme of things, but for many Apple Music enthusiasts, it is a long-awaited improvement.

Apple Music Replay is similar to Spotify Wrapped, showcasing the top songs and artists that you listen to each year, complete with a year-end highlight reel.

Apple Music Replay is available for most of the year, though.

A corresponding Apple Music Replay playlist is available in the Apple Music app, at the bottom of the Home tab. The playlist lists the 100 songs that you have listened to the most as the year progresses, and it is updated on a weekly basis until the end of the year. At that point, the playlist for that particular year becomes final.

iOS 26 is currently in beta, and the update should be released in September.

Apple Music is one of the apps that got a noticeable Liquid Glass design overhaul in iOS 26, but Apple also added a useful new feature that streamlines song transitions.

AutoMix is designed to transition from one song to another as the song that's playing ends, using time stretching and beat matching for a seamless shift. Apple says that it's meant to work "like a DJ."

Songs are designed to transition at the "perfect moment," based on an analysis of the key and tempo of the music. AutoMix replaces Crossfade, and can be enabled when opening up ‌Apple Music‌ after updating to ‌iOS 26‌.

AutoMix is live in the developer beta, and so far testers have been impressed with the feature, and there are multiple threads on Reddit and other social media networks praising it as one of the best features in the new update. Though Apple describes AutoMix as using "intelligence" for beat matching, it is not an Apple Intelligence feature, and is not limited to newer iPhones. It is, however, designed for ‌Apple Music‌ subscribers, so you need an ‌Apple Music‌ subscription to use it.

There are other new features in ‌Apple Music‌ too. For songs that are in a different language, Apple has a Lyrics Translation feature, plus a Lyrics Pronunciation option so you can accurately sing those lyrics. There's also an option to pin favorite playlists to the top of the Music app, and access those through a new pinned music widget on the Home and Lock Screens.

‌iOS 26‌ is available for developers at the current time, but a public beta will be coming in July. The update will see a launch this fall alongside new iPhone models.

Apple improved the Math Notes feature in iOS 26 and iPadOS 26, allowing users to input equations to create graphs in three dimensions.

Math Notes was added in iOS 18 and iPadOS 18. It works in the Notes app, or through a Math Notes option that's accessible through the Calculator app. The feature is designed to solve math problems or equations when an equals sign is entered. On the iPhone, Math Notes works with typed equations, but on the iPad, you can write out equations by hand with the Apple Pencil and get in-line results.

With ‌iOS 26‌ and ‌iPadOS 26‌, when you write an equation with three variables, Math Notes is able to create a graph with three dimensions. So, for example, if you write an equation like z=sin(x^2 + y^2), you'll get a ripple graph.

To use the feature, write or type an equation and then tap on one of the variables and choose the Insert 3D graph option. 3D graphs can be enlarged, resized, and moved using tap and drag gestures. While it is available on both ‌iPhone‌ and ‌iPad‌, the feature works better on the ‌iPad‌ due to the larger display area. If you're handwriting Math Notes on the ‌iPad‌, write an equation and then circle it to get to the graphing options.

The new 3D graphic functionality could be useful for linear algebra and multivariable calculus visualizations, and the graphs that are output can be copied and pasted into other apps.

‌iOS 26‌ and ‌iPadOS 26‌ are in the early stages of testing and are only available to developers at the current time. Apple plans to release a public beta in July, and a launch will follow in September.

Apple is aiming to debut its delayed personalized Siri features in the spring of 2026, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman claims that Apple set an "internal release target" of 2026, which is in line with comments from Apple executives this week.

Craig Federighi and Greg Joswiak did multiple post-WWDC interviews acknowledging Apple's issues with ‌Siri‌, and confirmed that Apple is now planning for a 2026 release. According to Apple's narrative, there were ongoing quality issues with its testing of the new ‌Siri‌ features, so it held them back and swapped to a more powerful underlying architecture to address the problems.

Apple initially planned to launch the personalized ‌Siri‌ features in iOS 18.4, so after the year-long delay to fix the architecture, we could see the functionality introduced in an iOS 26.4 update sometime in March or April 2026.

Gurman claims that if the next few weeks of development "proves promising," Apple could preview the features when it launches the new iPhone 17 models in the fall. It is unclear if Apple will do so, because it faced significant criticism and multiple class-action lawsuits for delaying the ‌Siri‌ features in the first place.

Apple first showed off the Apple Intelligence ‌Siri‌ updates at WWDC 2024 last June, and advertised the iPhone 16 models using demonstrations of the functionality. Customers who bought an ‌iPhone 16‌ in anticipation of the ‌Siri‌ features were not happy with the news of Apple's delay this March.

For WWDC 2025, Apple did not highlight any features that are coming in the future, and almost everything that the company introduced during the keynote event is present in the first developer beta.

The ‌Apple Intelligence‌ ‌Siri‌ features that we are waiting on include personal context, on-screen awareness, and deeper integration with apps.

Apple today quietly updated the list of security fixes that were introduced in iOS 18.3.1, noting a previously undisclosed fix for a zero-day vulnerability affecting the Messages app.

Apple acknowledged the fix after security researchers from The Citizen Lab shared details on the flaw, which had been used to target two European journalists. The Messages vulnerability was exploited with the "Graphite" mercenary spyware created by Paragon. Paragon's spyware has been used in targeted attacks against journalists and human rights activists across multiple platforms.

According to Apple, a maliciously crafted photo or video shared through an iCloud link led to a logic issue that allowed for the infiltration of targeted devices. Apple's release notes say that it "is aware of a report that this issue may have been exploited in an extremely sophisticated attack against specific targeted individuals."

Apple confirmed to The Citizen Lab that it fixed the vulnerability back when iOS 18.3.1 was released in February, but it is not clear why Apple did not disclose it before today.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

It is day four of WWDC 2025 week, and the dust is finally beginning to settle. Whether you are an Apple fan who has been keeping up with the avalanche of news, or a developer who has been scrolling through all of Apple's latest documentation, it has been a whirlwind of a week. If you need a breather, Apple has a chill new playlist to help out.

WWDC25 Coffee Shop is the latest playlist in Apple's series, joining WWDC25 Hello, WWDC25 Power Up, WWDC25 Sunshine, and WWDC25 Jazz.

"Today's Coffee Shop mix is all about cozy sounds for quiet focus," said Apple.

The playlist is available on Apple Music below.

Alongside the Mac Studio with M4 Max and M3 Ultra chips, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 with a Black Titanium case was also added to Apple's online refurbished store in the U.S. today, for the first time since it was released in September 2024.

The refurbished model costs $679, down from $799 new. It comes with a Black Ocean Band.

Beyond the different case color, the Black Titanium model is the same as the other Apple Watch Ultra 2 models, which first launched in September 2023. Due to Apple's legal battle with medical technology company Masimo, the Blood Oxygen app remains deactivated in the U.S. on all new and refurbished Apple Watch Ultra 2 models.

Apple says it puts refurbished products through "full functionality testing" and a "thorough cleaning process and inspection," and they are covered by Apple's one-year limited warranty and eligible for extended AppleCare+ coverage. In our view, Apple's refurbished products are virtually indistinguishable from brand new ones.

The refurbished Apple Watch Ultra 2 models come in a plainer box, with a fast-charging puck.

Apple today added Mac Studio models with M4 Max and M3 Ultra chips to its online certified refurbished store in the United States, Canada, Japan, Singapore, and many European countries, for the first time since they were released in March.

As usual for refurbished Macs, prices are discounted by approximately 15% compared to the equivalent new models on Apple's online store. Note that Apple's refurbished inventory fluctuates often, so check back often for certain configurations.

In the U.S., refurbished M4 Max configurations starts at $1,699, down from $1,999. The refurbished M3 Ultra configurations start at $3,399, down from $3,999.

Apple has yet to make refurbished MacBook Air models with the M4 chip available anywhere.

The refurbished Mac Studio models ship in a plainer box. Beyond that difference, we consider Apple's refurbished Macs to be virtually indistinguishable from brand new ones, providing a good opportunity for savings directly from Apple. However, you can often find better deals on Macs through resellers like Amazon.

Apple says it puts refurbished Macs through "full functionality testing" and a "thorough cleaning process and inspection," and they are covered by Apple's one-year limited warranty and eligible for extended AppleCare+ coverage.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has reminded us that today marks the 20th anniversary of Steve Jobs giving an iconic commencement address at Stanford University.

"It's hard to believe it's been 20 years since Steve told Stanford graduates to stay hungry and stay foolish," said Cook, in a social media post reflecting on the impactful speech. "His powerful advice still rings true, and I hope it helps guide this year's new grads as they begin their journey to become tomorrow's leaders."

To honor the 20th anniversary of the speech, The Steve Jobs Archive has uploaded a higher-quality video of the speech on its website and YouTube.

The Steve Jobs Archive has also provided more backstory about Jobs' commencement address and how he prepared for it leading up to June 12, 2005. In the weeks leading up to the commencement, he emailed himself speech ideas.

Jobs' speech was full of iconic quotes and moments:

• "Stay hungry, stay foolish."
• "You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards."
• "Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life."
• "For the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: 'If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?' And whenever the answer has been 'No' for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something."
• "If I had never dropped in on that single calligraphy course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the Mac, it's likely that no personal computer would have them."

Hilariously, Jobs also told the crowd of graduates that dropping out of college was one of the best decisions that he ever made in his life.

Watch the full speech below, now in enhanced quality.

Apple is expanding its AutoFill feature for one-time verification codes on iOS 26 and macOS Tahoe.

Software engineer Jane Manchun Wong discovered that iOS 26 can automatically fill in one-time verification codes from third-party apps, like Google Voice. The feature previously only worked with codes from Apple's Messages app on the iPhone.

As noted by MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris, macOS Tahoe can automatically fill in one-time verification codes from the Messages app in Google Chrome and other third-party web browsers. The feature was previously limited to Safari on the Mac.

These are two great quality-of-life improvements to this crowd-pleasing AutoFill feature.

iOS 26 and macOS Tahoe are currently available in developer beta, with public betas to follow next month. The software updates will be released to the general public later this year, bringing these AutoFill improvements to all users.

CarPlay is gaining a lot of new features with iOS 26, including a Liquid Glass design, Live Activities, widgets, the ability to use Tapbacks and view pinned conversations in the Messages app, and more. But that's not all, as Apple has outlined another change coming to CarPlay with iOS 26 in a WWDC 2025 video for developers.

Specifically, Apple said that iOS 26 will allow CarPlay users to interact with mapping apps using multi-touch gestures in supported vehicles. This will allow users to zoom and pan on the map with their fingers, just like they can on an iPhone.

"Many new vehicles support multitouch interactions, including any vehicle that supports CarPlay Ultra," said Olivia Hess, a CarPlay software engineer at Apple, in the video session. "Starting in iOS 26, if a vehicle supports multitouch interactions in CarPlay, drivers can interact with your navigation app using multitouch gestures."

In the video, Apple highlighted another small but useful improvement to CarPlay that is available with iOS 18.4 and later: a sports mode for audio apps.

CarPlay apps that stream audio for live sports events can now show a scoreboard for the game on the CarPlay screen, right alongside controls for the audio feed. The revamped Now Playing view can show team logos, scores, the game clock, and more.

iOS 18.4 was released in late March, while iOS 26 is currently available in developer beta and will be released to all users later this year.

Earlier today, we reported that CarPlay will also be gaining the ability to play videos from an iPhone via AirPlay in supported vehicles.

Amazon today has low prices across nearly the entire M4 MacBook Air lineup, with up to $180 off both 13-inch and 15-inch models. Many of the notebooks in this sale are seeing delivery estimates around mid June, and Best Buy is matching in most cases.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

Starting with the 13-inch models, Amazon has $150 off all three configurations of this notebook. Prices start at $849.00 for the 256GB model, then raise to $1,049.00 for the 16GB/512GB model and $1,249.00 for the 24GB/512GB model. All of these are solid second-best prices on the M4 MacBook Air.

Moving to the larger display models, Amazon has both 512GB versions of the 15-inch M4 MacBook Air on sale this week, as well as the 256GB model. The 16GB/512GB model is available for $1,249.00 and the 24GB/512GB model is on sale for $1,419.00. Across the board, these are all also second-best prices on the 15-inch M4 MacBook Air.

If you're on the hunt for more discounts, be sure to visit our Apple Deals roundup where we recap the best Apple-related bargains of the past week.

Apple this week announced that iPhone users will soon be able to watch videos right on the CarPlay screen in supported vehicles.

iPhone users will be able to wirelessly stream videos to the CarPlay screen using AirPlay, according to Apple. For safety reasons, video playback will only be available when the vehicle is parked, to prevent distracted driving. The connected iPhone will be able to detect when the vehicle is in motion and end playback.

Apple says that automakers need to add support for CarPlay with AirPlay video, so it will likely take some time to roll out. It appears that the AirPlay functionality will be available for both regular CarPlay and the higher-end CarPlay Ultra, but it is unclear if it will be enabled in any existing vehicles, or if it will be limited to new vehicles.

From the CarPlay page on Apple's developer website:

Video in the car

AirPlay video in the car enables people to watch their favorite videos from iPhone right on their CarPlay display when they aren't driving. Integrate support for CarPlay with AirPlay video to enable this feature in your car.

This feature would be especially beneficial in electric vehicles with CarPlay, as it would provide the driver and any passengers with entertainment while they are parked at a charging station. Some electric vehicles already offer this capability natively. Tesla, for example, has long offered a Theater app that can play videos from apps like Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, and Twitch on the dashboard screen, while the vehicle is parked.

Apple has not shared any further details or images for AirPlay video in the car. Availability of the feature might vary by country based on safety regulations.

There were already some unapproved ways to watch videos through CarPlay, with various jailbreak tweaks and TestFlight beta apps promising to unlock such functionality. Now, it is something that Apple will officially allow.

With iOS 26, Apple has introduced some major changes to the iPhone experience, headlined by the new Liquid Glass redesign that's available across all compatible devices. However, several of the update's features are exclusive to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models, since they rely on Apple Intelligence.

The following features are powered by on-device large language models and machine learning, which require the advanced neural processing capabilities found in Apple's latest A-series chips. Here's what iPhone 15 Pro users and newer can expect from iOS 26 that older device owners will miss out on.

• Live Translation in Messages, FaceTime, Phone – Provides real-time translation across Apple's communication apps, automatically translating messages as you type, displaying live captions during FaceTime calls, and speaking translations aloud during phone conversations.
• Shortcuts Actions with AI Features – Adds new Shortcuts app actions that tap into Apple Intelligence models, enabling users to create images, summarize text, and access AI responses within their automated workflows.
• Reminders Suggestions and Organization – Uses on-device AI to suggest new tasks and grocery items based on text found in Messages and emails, while automatically categorizing task lists into organized sections.
• Messages Background Generation and Poll Suggestion – Adds AI-powered poll suggestions for easy creation and enables custom background generation through Image Playground integration, beyond the standard background options available to all users.
• Apple Wallet Order Tracking – Leverages AI to extract order tracking information directly from emails in your inbox, eliminating the need for merchant participation in Apple's tracking system.
• New Genmoji and Image Playground Features – Enhances existing Apple Intelligence image tools with the ability to mix emoji together, customize generated characters, and access ChatGPT-powered style options including anime, oil painting, and watercolor effects.
• Visual Intelligence with Screenshots – Expands the camera-based AI feature to work systemwide with screenshots, allowing users to analyze captured content for shopping, calendar events, and more information gathering.

Users with iPhone 14 Pro and earlier models can still get to experience the visual refresh and many other iOS 26 improvements, but the new AI-powered capabilities remain limited to Apple's latest iPhone models.

It's worth noting that the new Spatial Scenes effect might sound like an Apple Intelligence feature, but it actually uses the Neural Engine to create a spatially reactive version of a photo that animates as you move your device. The Spatial Scenes option is available in the Photos app and on the Lock Screen, but since it does not use Apple Intelligence, it's available on iPhone 12 and newer devices.

With iPadOS 26, Apple has introduced a new multitasking UI that allows for several open apps at the same time. You can change the size of ‌iPad‌ app windows, move them on top of each other, and rearrange them as desired, much like on the Mac. In a new interview with Ars Technica, Apple's software chief Craig Federighi has explained why the iPad took so long to gain proper windowed multitasking.

The delay apparently stemmed from early hardware limitations. According to Federighi, original iPads lacked the power for true multitasking, and the touch-first interface demanded perfect responsiveness.

"It is a foundational requirement that if you touch the screen and start to move something that it responds," Federighi told Ars. "Otherwise, the entire interaction model is broken – it's a psychic break with your contract with the device."

Early iPads "didn't have the capacity to run an unlimited number of windowed apps with perfect responsiveness," he added. Apps weren't designed for dynamic resizing either.

Stage Manager's troubled 2022 debut brought its own challenges. Apple restricted it to high-end models to ensure consistent eight-app performance, but that inevitably frustrated users with older iPads. However, as iPad Pro hardware became Mac-equivalent in power, technical barriers disappeared. "Over time the iPad's gotten more powerful, the screens have gotten larger, the user base has shifted into a mode where there is a little bit more trackpad and keyboard use in how many people use the device," Federighi told Ars.

"And so the stars kind of aligned to where many of the things that you traditionally do with a Mac were possible to do on an iPad for the first time and still meet iPad's basic contract."

For iPadOS 26, Apple changed its approach. "We decided this time: make everything we can make available, even if it has some nuances on older hardware, because we saw so much demand," Federighi said. While iPadOS 26 allows for multiple app windows, there are limitations on how many apps can be open at once. On older iPads, for example, you're limited to four apps. Newer iPads can have more open app windows.

‌iPad‌ app windows feature the Mac traffic-light controls, and these can be used for resizing and closing apps. ‌iPad‌ apps also have Mac-style menu bars for tweaking settings, and there's a feature for running system-intensive tasks in the background. While the new interface borrows familiar Mac design elements like window controls and colors, there are key differences. Background processing remains restricted to finite tasks like file transfers rather than continuous system agents, for example.

"We've looked and said, as [the iPad and Mac] come together, where on the iPad the Mac idiom for doing something, like where we put the window close controls and maximize controls, what color are they – we've said why not, where it makes sense, use a converged design for those things so it's familiar and comfortable," Federighi told Ars. "But where it doesn't make sense, iPad's gonna be iPad."

Stage Manager survives as an optional mode alongside the new windowed system, giving users multiple multitasking approaches. iPadOS 26 also preserves the traditional single-app interface for users who prefer the iPad's original simplicity.

The changes are Apple's biggest step yet toward treating the iPad as a legitimate laptop replacement, particularly for the base $349 model that stands to gain the most from enhanced multitasking capabilities. iPadOS 26 is currently in developer beta, with a public beta arriving next month and a general release expected in the fall. What do you think of the multitasking changes Apple has introduced? Lets us know in the comments.

Barnes & Noble has updated its Nook app for iPhone and iPad with a new "buy on BN.com" button that redirects users to the company's website to complete e-book and audiobook purchases (via GoodReader).

The button appears alongside book listings and opens the user's default browser to the corresponding product page on Barnes & Noble's website. After completing the purchase, content automatically syncs to the Nook app and any connected Nook devices.

Previously, iOS users had no clear path to purchase books through the app, often leaving customers confused about how to buy content. The new system mirrors recent updates to Amazon's Kindle app and Spotify, which added similar external purchase options.

The changes stem from a court ruling in the ongoing litigation between Epic Games and Apple. In April, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers issued a contempt order prohibiting Apple from blocking external purchase links or imposing commissions on them.

For over a decade, Apple's App Store guidelines required developers to either use Apple's in-app purchase system with a 30% commission or remove any links directing users to alternative payment methods.

The ruling has enabled e-reader apps to offer more intuitive purchasing experiences, with Kobo also implementing similar functionality.

iOS 26 features a whole new design material that Apple calls Liquid Glass, with a focus on transparency that lets the content on your display shine through the controls. If you're not a fan of the look, or are having trouble with readability, there is a step that you can take to make things more opaque without entirely losing out on the new look.

Apple has multiple Accessibility options that are designed to customize iOS for different visual needs, and one of these options is Reduce Transparency. Toggling on Reduce Transparency adds a darker background to translucent areas like the Control Center, app icons, and app folders, improving contrast.

You can turn on Reduce Transparency by opening up the Settings app, going to Accessibility, selecting Display and Text Size, and tapping on the Reduce Transparency toggle. If you want to be able to turn the setting on and off quickly, you can add it to your Accessibility Shortcuts to get to it from the Control center interface.

Activating Reduce Transparency does not remove all translucency from the iPhone's interface, but it does give everything more of an opaque look. It does not change the shape of buttons or return things to a pre-iOS 26 look.

We're still very early in the beta testing process, and Apple will make tweaks and refinements to the Liquid Glass design based on user feedback. It's always tough to get used to an entirely new interface, so if you're a developer running the beta and you're having trouble adjusting or reading some text, temporarily activating Reduce Transparency might help ease the transition.

In all likelihood, most people will adjust to the updated Liquid Glass design within a few days. Apple hasn't made significant changes to app interfaces and layouts, so even though there's a whole new look for ‌iOS 26‌, Apple says it's still going to feel familiar to people.

Liquid Glass could look different by the time that ‌iOS 26‌ launches to the public, and we'll see it evolve over the next few months. Right now, ‌iOS 26‌ is limited to developers, but a public beta is coming in July. A launch will follow in September.